SOCIAL MEDIA AND ITS IMPACTS ON CONSUMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT: AN INVESTIGATION OF PRODUCT RECOMMENDATION

Introduction

The use of media in times of crisis has greatly changed from a one way communication to a multi type of conversation since social media was introduced. Examples of social media are Face book, Twitter, blogs and forums.

The main differences between social media and traditional media is that Social media is a two way conversation which is more interactive than traditional media which is a one way conversation with the audience and is less interactive. Social media is an open system as compared to Traditional media which is a closed system. Social media is transparent and greatly offers one- on- one marketing unlike traditional media which is opaque offering mass marketing. There is also a difference in the tone of voice between the two types of media. This is because; traditional media presents more negative tones in headlines and also in main text as compared to social media which can be toned to accommodate a specific target market with continuous updates.

IBM product recommendations create an engaging experience with customers and a lot of loyalty by provision of product recommendations across different channels. In addition to this, they provide personalized recommendations for the individual customers and optimize conversations by delivering behavior based product recommendations based on actions and customer interests. They also improve business insights and increase performance by using analytics and reporting in order to gain deeper insight into the behavior of customers and also on the different recommendation strategies.

Terms of Reference

Research Questions

1. What are the effective approaches used by brands/companies to engage with their customers, through utilization of social media: a case study for IBM and Facebook.
2. What factors can be used by brands/companies to better interact with their customers using social media?
3. Can social media enable an increase in word of mouth, in turn making product recommendation more reliable?

Research Objectives

1. To examine how social media strategically differs from the traditional media?
2. To determine how social media is more effective than the traditional media and why companies are shifting to social media
3. To determine how social media facilitates the process of product recommendation
4. To evaluate the differences between social media and traditional media as marketing tools
5. To understand how traditional media companies can address the challenge of social media presence.
6. To determine the role of opinion leaders and seekers on social media platforms.

Rationale for the study

In today’s fast moving world, there are a majority of companies that are shifting their focus from traditional media such as outdoor, Print, television and radio to social media such as apps, social media mobile, online advertising, You Tube, search engines and many more. The companies currently are spending more money due to the proliferation of available new media alternatives. However, despite providing the companies with plenty of benefits, the social media also bears high risk. Despite the popularity of the new social media, the organizations are still on the debate that the mastery old traditional media strategy is still a far better and wiser approach as compared to the aggressive social media pursuit. However, analyzing the cost and effectiveness of both the media is driving to the company can provide accurate answer for this on going debate (Meraz, 2009).

Traditional media is extremely expensive especially for small businesses while the social media platforms are free to use. The only cost that social media provides to businesses is the time that is spent on interacting with contacts and updating profiles. This is a benefit to social media as it is accessible to the business owners because of the low cost barrier. The low cost of entry of the social media make it profitable to use to small businesses especially the small businesses that find the costs associated to the traditional media prohibitive.

In addition to this, businesses use social media to distribute and create promotional material such as videos, articles and audio for a small amount of money as compared to the amount spent for it to appear in the press. Social media also levels the playing field for businesses because of their ease of accessibility regardless of the size of the company, the contacts and also the turnover. Thus, the tools for social media are generally opened for the entire public whereas reaching traditional media often requires investing in a lot of money and also a good network of the media industry contacts.

In traditional media production, the essence of high level of skill, specialist and training is involved. However, this is not the case with social media as the channels of social media are simple for usage even for individuals who have basic knowledge on Information Technology.

Traditional media can reach a global audience despite it being costly and time consuming. With social media, businesses can communicate information in a flash and this is regardless of the geographical location. Social media will also allow individuals to tailor their content for each of the market segment and thus give businesses the opportunity to get their messages across more widely than before. In addition to that, in cases where the piece of information has gone viral, there is no limit to the number of people that it can reach and this is at no extra cost for the entire business.

Social media channels also offer unparalleled opportunities for the customers to be in position to interact and also to build relationships and this is because of their interactive nature.

Social media is also more flexible in terms of its adaptability. This is because the information can be altered, updated discussed and also supplemented in a manner which is unknown to the magazine feature or to the newspaper article. Thus, information can be published easily in seconds by use of social media and thus this will make it easier for the businesses to be in position to have their content up to date.

Moreover, the stats of social media are more measurable as compared to the traditional media whose figures have to be monitored over a long period of time. With social media, it is possible for the businesses to test the marketing messages and to gauge the user responses.

Although there are many businesses which are getting on board when it comes to social media, there are still others that are cautious about the complete breaking away from the traditional media. This holds to the belief that traditional media still matters a lot even to the digital marketers. Traditional media still holds promise in being a trusted source. This is because it includes trusted media outlets. In addition traditional media is preferred because it is always present in some form however the numbers of people who used to read newspapers aren’t what they used to be.

Traditional media is effective if you want to send out a general message about the services that you are to provide and also about the business. However, it limits the nimbleness of the message because takes a longer time when you want to send your message out to the customers. Traditional media thus takes a longer time for gauging effectiveness. However, digital media allows you to measure the results of the campaign by the use of different platforms.

The main key in creating an effective marketing campaign lies in the need to understand the people that you want to reach out to, the message you intend to send to your audience and also how often you want to speak to your customers. If you want to reach out to a larger audience in a short time, then it is evident that traditional media may be effective but this will only be possible in some areas. Social media is thus more applicable and effective for reaching out to people within a short period of time.